Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum
President of the National Assembly | |
|---|---|
| In office 1966–1968 | |
| In office 1962–1963 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 September 1905 An Giang, Vietnam) |
| Died | 22 January 2009 (aged 103) Phnom Penh,Cambodia |
| Nationality | Cambodian |
| Political party | Sangkum (1955–1970) |
| Spouse |
Vann Thi Hai (m. 1940) |
| Children | 7 |
| Relatives | Koun Wick (cousin)[1] |
| Ethnicity | Khmer Krom |
Chau Sen Cocsal (
Early life
Chhum was born into an ethnic
Career
In 1928, Chau Sen Cocsal was promoted Deputy Governor of Takéo Province (Gouverneur Adjoint), then successively posted in Tralach District, Takéo Province, in 1931 and Thbaung Khmaum, Kompong Cham Province, in 1935. In 1938, Chhum became Governor of Svay Rieng Province. From 1940 to 1944, he was Governor of Kompong Chhnang Province. During World War II, Chhum refused to supply forced labour to the Japanese occupying forces in Cambodia and joined resistance in the jungle.
With the return of the French Administration, Chhum was nominated Mayor of Phnom Penh in 1945, Governor of Kompong Cham Province in 1946, then Governor of Kandal Province in 1948. In 1951, Chhum was sent to Thailand, as Cambodia's first ambassador to a foreign country. Chhum returned to Cambodia in 1952 and once more took to the jungle to fight for the country's independence from France.
In 1955, Chau Sen Cocsal was elected to the Cambodian National Assembly as deputy of Kompong Cham Province. From 1958 to 1963, he occupied the position of President of the National Assembly. In 1969, at the age of 64, Chhum retired from public office.
In April 1975, after the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge and Saigon to North Vietnamese troops and the Viet Cong, as Chau Sen Cocsal was visiting relatives in Kampuchea Krom, he was arrested by Vietnamese authorities. Charged with spying for the US Central Intelligence Agency, Chhum was incarcerated for 17 months in what he would later describe as a "chicken box" then in a room where he took turns sleeping with 40 other prisoners.[5] Chau Sen Cocsal spent an additional two years under house arrest in Saigon. Under the pressure of France, Vietnam released Chhum, who was allowed to migrate to France with his wife.
In 1991, following the signature of the Paris Peace Agreements, King
Death
On 22 January 2009, at the age of 103, Cambodia's last remaining civil servant from the French Administration, and the Sangkum Reastr Niyum, died peacefully, surrounded by his family. Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum was publicly cremated with full military guard and honour. He was saluted by official communiqués by King Father Norodom Sihanouk,
Personal life
On 2 April 1940, Chau Sen Cocsal married Vann Thi Hai and they had seven children.[10]
Notes
- ^ a b "Index Ch".
- ^ Profile of Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum
- ^ "អគ្គិសនីកម្ពុជា".
- ^ Royal Palace (2009)
- ^ a b c Pomonti, J.C. (2009)
- ^ Norodom Sihanouk (2009)
- ^ Norodom Sihamoni (2009)
- ^ Ambassade de France au Cambodge (2009)
- ^ De Lopez, T. T. (2009)
- ISBN 9789995066000.
References
- De Lopez, T.T. (2009). "A final goodbye to Cambodia's last great civil servant", Phnom Penh Post, 28 January
- Norodom Sihanouk (2009). "Lettre de LLMM le Roi-Père et la Reine-Mère du Cambodge à Lok Chumtiev Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum", 22 January
- Norodom Sihamoni (2009). "Lettre de SM Norodom Sihamoni du Cambodge à Lok Chumtiev Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum", 22 January.
- "Hommage à Samdech Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum". Ambassade de France au Cambodge. 26 January 2009. Archived from the original on 10 December 2010.
- Pomonti, J.C (2009). "Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum Mémoire d'un siècle". Cambodge Soir, 68, 29 January - 4 February
- Royal Palace (2009). "Biographie de Samdech Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum", Phnom Penh, Cambodia.